11 Hoboken + Jersey City News Stories You Missed This Week

There’s so much to recap this week in both Hoboken and Jersey City alike! For starters, Warby Parker opened up its eyeglasses store on Washington, Artichoke Pizza released a mock-up image of its upcoming Hoboken location, and Hoboken Mayor Bhalla announced the city’s seasonal programming. All this and more below — here are your top news stories of the week in Hoboken and Jersey City!

Warby Parker Is Open for Eye-Related Business

The Hoboken Warby Parker is officially open! The popular eyeglasses chain opened its doors at 538 Washington Street yesterday, November 17th. It’s not the first NJ Warby to crop up — earlier this year a Paramus location opened and then lastly will be Westfield.

The new Warby has created an exclusive limited edition pair of sunglasses for the Hoboken location only. It also takes United Healthcare and Spectra health insurance vision plans.

Artichoke Pizza Reveals Hoboken Location

{Mockup photo from Instagram via @brandonrlinker}

One of New York City’s most famous pizzerias is coming to the Mile Square City. Artichoke Pizza, known for its signature slice of artichoke heart, spinach, cream sauce, mozzarella, and pecorino cheese, made the announcement earlier this week on Instagram. “Proud to announce our first New Jersey @artichokepizza location in #hoboken at 96 Hudson Street! We’ve taken a beautiful old storefront in the Historic District that closely resembles our #nyc tenement building locations. Can’t wait to start slinging slices in Hoboken! Start spreading the news…”

Aside from the infamous artichoke slice, the pizzeria’s menu offers other stand-outs like Crab Pizza, vodka pies, boxed salads, calzones, and more. Artichoke will take over the former Jimmy John’s location on Hudson Street.

Local Artist Ricardo Roig’s Residency at the W Hotel Extended Another Year

The Roig Collection is celebrating another year at the W Hotel in Hoboken! Roig is now able to extend its Artist Residency at the W Hotel for a full year.

“Thanks to all of you wonderful people we were able to extend our Artist Residency at the W Hotel Hoboken for another year!” Roig wrote in a press release. “With such a whirlwind of fun these past 5 months at the W Hoboken we can only imagine how much we will be growing this new year. Thank you for joining us at openings, sharing the journey and valuing the artwork that Ricardo so truly loves to create.”

The release continued, “We will now have a dedicated page on their website to showcase our gallery space, gift a postcard with every VIP stay each week to help connect our gallery with visitors and will also be hosting a weekly causal cocktail night with live music hosted by Ricardo to interest hotel guests & residents. All are welcome to join to see what’s new in the studio.”

Details on This Year’s Hoboken Christmas Exchange

{Photo credit: Hoboken Grace Photography Team}

The Hoboken Christmas Exchange is making sure no child in the Mile Square City goes without a gift. Back for its fourth year, the annual Hoboken Christmas Exchange brings together over 1,000 families on December 7 and 8. If you’re interested in contributing presents, family adoptions are currently open. You can find more information on HobokenChristmas.com.

The HCE is brought to you by Hoboken Grace, Hoboken Housing Authority, HOPES, North Hudson Community Action Corps, Hoboken Family Planning, The Jubilee Center TRUE Mentors, In Jesus Name Charities, Hoboken Early 100, and school counselors, all of which work together to help identify families in need.

15-Story Complex Proposed for Journal Square in Jersey City

Journal Square in Jersey City might soon see the construction of a new 15-story complex. The concept proposes 32 Oakland Avenue as the site. Currently, the location is just a surface parking lot. According to a public notice, a 15-story building, which would consist of nearly 300 units, is proposed at the corner of Washburn Street in Ward C. The developer is listed as Overlook, LLC and would include two floors of office space, 181 “automated parking spaces,” and a commercial space on the ground floor. The Final Major Site Plan must be approved by the Jersey City Planning Board before anything can come to fruition.

PATH Weekend Service to Be Suspended on World Trade Center Line

PATH riders will lose weekend service, this time on the World Trade Center line sometime next year. Tunnels between New York and Jersey will shut down so that workers can permanently replace rails and equipment damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

In light of the inconvenient news, Steve Coleman, a rep for the bi-state agency, confirmed Port Authority bridges and Tunnels will not be hit with either fare or toll increase in 2019.

However, tunnels between World Trade and Exchange Place will still lose weekend service as we approach the new year. There are seven projects currently in the works for 2019. Projects will seek to replace rails, third rail, and other wiring, cables and equipment that supply power. Damage is still left over from when Hurricane Sandy hit back in 2012.

“More specifics on the PATH shutdowns will be announced soon,” Coleman said. “The schedule is still being finalized.”

This announcement comes after PATH recently reopened the 33rd Street line on weekends. Previously, it had been shut down on weekends between July 14 and October 28 to install and test Positive Train Control, a federally mandated safety system.

Ex-Wonderbread Factory in Hoboken Undergoing $120 Million Revamp

Wonder Lofts on Clinton Street formerly housed the Wonderbread factory in Hoboken and now, there is a $120 million effort to turn the factory into a three-building, 89-unit residential complex. Prism Captial Partners and Angelo, Gordon & Co, and Parkwood Development Corp. have teamed up to bring the project to life and open the project’s first homes by 2020.

Interior demolition could start as early as this week, according to Prism Capital Partners. The Wonder Lofts sales office is slated to open by Spring 2019.

“The property, designed by Minervini Vandermark, will feature preserved, architecturally significant detail. The conversion of the existing seven-story buildings will introduce 68 luxury condominium units. The two- to five-bedroom loft-style homes will range in size from 1,200 to 2,700 square feet. All will feature private direct-access terraces or rooftop terraces with water electric and gas hookups. The second building will be built on the corner of 8th and Clinton streets. That five-story structure will include 15 additional condo units. A third building, also located on Clinton Street, will include six affordable rental apartments on five stories.”

City of Hoboken Launches Holiday Programs Including Free Garage Parking, Transport + More

Holiday Hop: the City will offer free Holiday Hop service on weekends from 11 am-7 pm. beginning Saturday, November 24 (“Small Business Saturday”), and continuing through Sunday, December 30. The Holiday Hop route will operate between Hoboken Terminal and 14th Street, generally along the NJ Transit 126 bus route. Riders will be able to track the real-time location of the Holiday Hop using the SmartTraxx app.

Free parking in garages: the City will offer free parking in municipal garages B, D, and Midtown for up to four hours per day on weekends beginning Saturday, November 24 {“Small Business Saturday”} and continuing through Sunday, December 30. In order to redeem the free parking for up to four hours in municipal garages B, D, and Midtown, drivers will need to show the garage attendant a receipt showing purchase of at least $20 at Hoboken shopping or dining establishments.

Discounted metered on-street parking: the City will be partnering with Parkmobile to offer $2.00 off parking sessions through the use of a promo code on weekends beginning November 24 {“Small Business Saturday”}, and continuing through Sunday, December 30. The code will be announced over the City’s Facebook and Twitter accounts within the next two weeks.

Other upcoming holiday-themed events include the Hoboken City Hall Craft Fair {Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2 from 11 to 5pm at 94 Washington Street}, Hoboken’s Christmas Tree Lighting {Thursday, December 6 at 5pm in front of City Hall}, and the Holiday Banding Concert {Sunday, December 16 at 5:30pm at the Hoboken Elks Club at 10th and Washington}.

CoolVines Launches Soft Opening of Second Location

CoolVines’ second location at 350 Warren Street in Jersey City is officially open. The second location will feature wine and liquor like the original, but will also have an eatery called Butler Cafe. The cafe section will serve coffee and encourage patrons to pop open their recently-purchased wine.

Jersey City Driver Charged With DUI After Hitting Police Car

A 30-year-old Jersey City resident has been charged with driving while intoxicated after allegedly hitting a marked police car. Angel Candelaria, 30, was driving with a suspended license when he hit a cop car at 12am Monday morning. Hoboken officers witnessed the crash, then followed Candelaria down Hudson Street until they were able to stop him. Candelaria was unable to compete a field sobriety test. After being arrested and transported to headquarters, Candelaria’s breath sample found his BAC above the legal limit of .08%.

City Council to Host Community Forum About Marijuana

Mayor Bhalla and the City Council of Hoboken are hosting a community forum regarding marijuana usage in Hoboken. According to a press release, the focus of the forum is to prepare for the potential legalization of recreational usage in New Jersey. The forum will be held Monday, November 19 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Hoboken Jubilee Center at 601 Jackson Street.

“The legalization of marijuana is an important issue, both socially and economically,” says Bhalla in a statement. “This is a social justice issue. While people of all races use marijuana recreationally at about the same rates, people of color are disproportionately more likely to be arrested. Additionally, cannabis has a number of medicinal benefits that would have positive effects on the lives of residents. Beyond that, this could be a big boon for the local economy. Given the massive impact of legalization, we want to make sure we handle this locally in a way that includes public input.”

Panelists will include Amol Sinha of the ACLU of New Jersey, Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante, Sasha Huertz of Garden State of Mind, and local NJ State Assembly members.

Hoboken Issues Study to Decide on Proposed Ferry Station

The City of Hoboken is looking to its residents for answers about the proposed ferry station. After issuing a study designed to assess the best possible site for New York Waterway’s proposed ferry repair and refueling station, the City has released the results. According to Hoboken city officials, the study shows similar results as the one conducted by NJ Transit in 2009, which reaches the same conclusion: Lackawanna Terminal in south Hoboken. The company behind the proposal has been campaigning for the Union Dry Dock property.

In total, 24 properties were examined — from the George Washington Bridge to the New York Bay in Bayonne. Locations were measured in capacity, zoning, compatibility, accessibility, public safety, environmental constraints, cost, and more.

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Stephanie Osmanski writes honest things about health, the planet, and being a woman. Her words have appeared on Business Insider, Parade, Eat This Not That, Dogster, Scary Mommy, Green Matters, Parents, Seventeen, Life & Style, InTouch Weekly, and more. Her articles have been syndicated on World Economic Forum, MSN, MSN UK, and MSN Canada. In her free time, Stephanie and her registered therapy dog, Koda, volunteer at local hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities.